Paradise: The 72nd Hunger Games
Chapter Twenty-Five
Training Part Two
Valencia Bisset –16- -D3- POV
After my… disturbing talk with Katelynn, I decide to follow up on Jack's advice, and, at lunch, go over to talk to the boy from Eight and the girl from Eleven. The girl from Eight is already with them, and they're all sitting at a table, talking.
"Hey," I say. "Ollie, Vanessa, Olivia, right? Mind if I sit here?"
Ollie and Olivia share a look. Then, "No, not at all," Olivia says.
"Why are you over here?" Ollie asks bluntly. "Not that you don't seem nice, just… you're from Three. I'm surprised that you're not with the careers over there," he points to the table where the careers sit, as far away from everyone else as possible.
I sigh. "Hey, I'm not like that. I am certainly not a career, no big fan of the Games, and I don't want to be here. And I don't have a problem with you just because you were born in a lower District."
"Then why did you volunteer?" Olivia asks.
"Because…" I pause. "Well, I guess you'll figure this out in my interview. That girl who was Reaped, Eris, she was my… I love her. That's why I volunteered. I did train, just in case I got Reaped, but I promise, I'm not a career."
"I see," Olivia says. "So, why are you here?"
"Because, my mentor said that you guys," I gesture to her and Ollie, "might be good allies. So, I'm here to inquire about an alliance."
Olivia and Ollie share another look, then a glance at Nessa. Then Olivia looks back at me and smiles. "We were just discussing that, actually. Ollie, Nessa, and I here are already an alliance and we were looking to have as many people as possible. We'd love to have you join, as long as you have no problem with a big alliance."
"Not at all," I say.
"Good," Ollie says, extending his hand. "Welcome to the alliance, Valencia. What skills do you bring to us?"
"So far? Bows. I'm also pretty good at hand-to-hand stuff," I reply.
"I see," Ollie says.
"So," I ask, "how did you three become an alliance?"
Ollie Rousseau –17- -D8- POV
"Well," I say in response to Valencia's question, "I and Nessa were already allies on the train. Once we got here, Olivia here came up to me and asked me if I wanted to ally with her. I asked Nessa, she said yes, and that was it. Not much to it."
"Nice," Valencia says. "So, you said that you were looking to have as many people as possible. Thinking of doing some more recruiting?"
"Yeah," I say. "We were, actually."
"Well then," Valencia says. "Maybe we should get started? No better time than now, before everyone heads back to their activities."
"Fair point," I say, picking my tray up from the table. "Let's all take a different person." I spot a boy, the boy from Six, I think, sitting alone at a table. He casts forlorn glances around the room, especially at his District partner, also eating alone. I decide to head over to him. "I'm taking Six," I say.
"I'll take Twelve," Nessa says.
"I'll take Nine," Olivia says.
"And I'll take Seven," Valencia says. "Meet back here once we're done?"
"Sounds good," I say. We all move to the various Tributes we were interested in recruiting.
Dante Myers –13- -D6- POV
That morning, after a silent breakfast with Miria, I sought out Athena Feere.
"Hey, Ms. Feere?" I walk up to her at the beginning of training.
She turns to me. "Yes? Dante, right? And it's Athena, please."
"Hi, Athena. Yes, I'm Dante," I reply.
"Oh, you're from Six, right?" She asks.
"Yeah," I say.
"Are you here about your mentor?" She asks. "He's still not helping people, is he?"
I shake my head. "No. He said to come to you for help."
She sighs. "I… I wish that all my colleagues had the same morals I do. Okay, I'd be happy to help. I'd suggest working with smaller weapons, daggers, short swords, maybe throwing knives. Most importantly, I think you should make some allies. Sound good?"
"Yes," I say.
"Okay," she says. "Come back to me any time you need help, okay?"
"Sure," I say. "Thanks, Athena."
"No problem," she says. "Happy to help."
At her advice, that morning I learn my way around a dagger and a short sword, saving knives for after lunch, and brush up on my wrestling again. At lunch, I sit alone, looking around. I know that I should be making allies, but I want to be sure of someone before I go over to them. After all, the last couple of times I've tried to talk to people, it hasn't gone so well. I'm still sitting alone when the boy from Eight comes over.
"Hey. Dante, right?" He asks. "Ollie. Can I sit here for a minute?"
"Sure, Ollie," I say. "Sit on down." He does. "So, Ollie, what's up? I saw your group break up over there."
"Oh, we're just going around recruiting," he says. "We're trying to build a large alliance of people from the outer Districts. You in?"
I consider his offer for a second. I can't think of how a large alliance would be a bad thing. "I'm in," I say.
"Good," he says. We shake hands.
"Wait," I ask. "What are the rules of this alliance?"
"Rules? I don't know. I guess… no killing unless there's no one else left," he says.
"That sounds good to me," I say.
"Once we have everyone, we'll have to take a vote," he says. I nod.
"Sounds good," I reply.
"So, Dante, what skills do you bring to the team?" He asks.
"Well, I've been training with a dagger and a short sword, I can do a bit of wrestling, but most importantly, I've picked up a few engineering tricks from one of my friends," I say. I smile a little bit, remembering all those times building Layna's crazy creations when we were young. "So I can probably build us some traps, that sort of stuff."
"That would be very useful," Ollie says. "Glad to have you. So, I was going to go ask your District partner, but judging from that fact that you two aren't sitting together, I'm guessing that's not a good idea?"
I nod. "She's going solo."
"Oh, okay," Ollie says. "Thanks, Dante. Well, I'm off to go try to do some more recruiting, but why don't you head back over to the table me and my friends were at. We're all going to meet back there in a minute."
"Sounds good," I say.
Luzson "Luz" Byrne –12- -D7- POV
I had been assigned a translator by Sophia so that I could talk to people, which was very helpful in communicating with the trainers. During the first part of training, I had stuck to her instructions, working on daggers and saving throwing knives for later. I was eating lunch with Griffin when the girl from Three came over to our table.
"Hey," she says. "Can I sit here for a minute?"
I nod. Sure. Just so you know, I'm deaf, so I speak in sign language through this guy here, the interpreter points to himself.
"Cool," she says. "I'm Valencia. Luzon, Griffin, right?"
Yes. Pleasure to meet you, Valencia, I sign.
"Pleasure to meet you, Luzson."
"Nice to meet you, Valencia," Griffin says. "Yes, Griffin." Valencia sits down.
"So, Luzson –,"
Luz, please.
"Oh, okay. So, Luz, how are you planning on communicating during the Games?" Valencia asks. "I don't know if everyone can learn sign language as quickly as Vallory did last year."
I don't know. Maybe I'll write some stuff if I can find a notebook.
"That sounds good," Valencia says. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you two if you wanted to join my alliance. So far, it's me, the pair from Eight, and the girl from Eleven. We're trying to recruit everyone we can though. Would you two be interested?"
I look at Griffin. What do you think?
"I think it sounds good," he says. "What about you."
I'm in, I sign to Griffin, then, turning back to Valencia, we're in.
She smiles. "Well, I'm going to try to talk to a few more people, but why don't you two head to that table over there and wait for me?" We nod and head over there.
Griffin Jefferson –14- -D7- POV
I, like Luz, had followed Sophia's instructions for the morning. I am excited to be a part of an alliance though! Hopefully, that gives me better odds of surviving. Right?
Everest "Eve" Asher –12- -D12- POV
I'm sitting with Heller at a table during lunch when the girl from Eight, Vanessa, I believe, walks over to us. We had eventually gotten some advice out of the often-blackout drunk Haymitch, with Effie supplementing in her ever so pretentious way, and I had focused mostly on small daggers, my strategy being to mostly run away if caught, and if I needed to fight, to use my small size and fast legs to inflict a 'death by a thousand cuts' on my enemy. That's the plan, at least.
"Hey, Everest, Heller, right?" Vanessa asks.
"Yes," I say. "Vanessa, right?"
"Yes," she says, "but please, call me Nessa."
"Nessa it is," I say. "What's up, Nessa?"
Nessa sits down. "Are you and Heller allies?"
"Yes," Heller responds for me. "We are."
"Good," she says. "I wanted to extend an offer to you to join our alliance. We've got a four-person one right now and we're looking to add as many people as possible. We're hoping that it'll give us a chance to beat the careers. What do you say?"
I look at Heller. "What do you think?"
"Whatever you want, Eve," he says.
"Then I say yes," I say quickly. I know that any allies are better than none.
"Awesome," Nessa says.
"Wait, just one question," I say.
"Yes?" she asks.
"Can we agree to not kill each other until we're the last ones left?" I ask.
"That sounds like a good idea," she says. "Hey, why don't we head back to my table?"
"Sounds good," I say. I pick up my tray and, with Heller following me, follow Nessa back to her table.
Heller Horvath –14- -D12- POV
By playing the agreeable sidekick, I've already started to manipulate Eve and she doesn't know it. An alliance will be good for us though. They can protect me, and when they're not useful, I can kill them in their sleep, all while playing the agreeable sheep. Yes, an alliance can be very useful.
Alita Whicker –17- -D9- POV
That morning, I had decided to work on my swordplay. Or, you know, learn how to use a sword. So, I walked over to the sword station and slashed across a dummy's chest with a vicious cut.
"Ooh. Good cut," a girl says from behind me. "But if you cut that way, it leaves you open to a cut across the chest. I can show you how to fix that."
"Oh," I say, turning around to face her. "That's nice, but, uh… who are you?"
"Oh!" She says. "Sorry. Danielle Hawkins, sword instructor." I shake her hand. Danielle is a pretty young woman, with brown eyes and straight brown hair. "Nice to meet you, Alita."
"Nice to meet you too, Danielle," I say. "So, you said you could help me?"
"Yes," she says. "It's all in your stance. So, first, we're going to…"
All the way until lunch, Danielle helps be with my sword technique until I'm almost as good as she is. I thank her and head to lunch. Sitting at a table, looking for possible allies, the girl from Eleven comes up to me. Olivia, I believe.
"Hey, Alita," she says.
"Hi, Olivia, right?" I ask.
"Yes," she says. We shake hands. "Let's get right to the point. I'm part of an alliance and we're wondering if you'd like to join."
"Sure," I say. "Let's go."
"Awesome," she says. "What about your District Partner?"
"You can ask him, but he didn't want to be trained with me," I say.
"Okay," she says. "He probably won't want any part in our alliance then."
Vanessa "Nessa" Vandermeer –15- -D8- POV
Arriving back at the table with my catch, I look at everyone else's Tributes. We've now more than doubled our numbers, with ten members now sitting around our small table. Once we get back and finish introductions, we talk strategy in hushed tones until the end of lunch. After lunch, we all go our separate ways for training again. Ollie and Olivia head over to the sword training station, working with a pretty young woman on their sword tactics. I head over to the throwing knife station, having already perfected my dagger skills, and throw a few knives, hitting the targets pretty well, before a voice behind me distracts me.
"Nice shots," the voice says. I turn around to see a brown-haired, brown-eyed man behind me. "Hi. Lucas Mikhailovich, throwing knife instructor. Nice to meet you, Vanessa."
"Oh," I say, transferring my remaining knife to my left and shaking his hand, "nice to meet you too."
"Those were pretty good shots, but you could do a little better. Want me to show you how?" Lucas asks.
"Sure," I say.
"Okay. First, it's all in the stance…"
Olivia Dean –18- -D11- POV
After our lunch, I work with Ollie and a very nice sword instructor named Danielle on my sword technique for a while before it's time for the Gamemaker session.
Miria "Ria" Wallace –16- -D6- POV
I also found Athena Feere, although after Dante did. And no, I didn't listen in on his conversation with her. I'm not that kind of person. I did get some advice from her. She told me to focus on survival skills for the first half of the day and only move to weapons later on when most people do survival skills and won't be paying attention to me. It sounds like as good a plan as any, so I went with it. One memorable encounter was with a pretty young woman at the traps station. She seemed much more energetic than anyone else.
"Hi, Miria. Interested in learning the fine art of trapping?" The girl asks.
"I guess so," I say.
"Wonderful," the girl says. "I'm Ella, by the way. Ella Daniels." We shake hands.
"Ria Wallace," I say. "Nice to meet you. Now, what can you teach me about traps?"
"Well, did you watch the Games two years ago?" She asks. I nod. "Right. Remember that trap that Athena and Sofie set?" I nod again. "Okay, good. So, there's a lot of simpler traps, although you can work your way up to something like that. Let's start with the pit trap…"
She works with me for the next few hours. She says that I'm a quick study, as many of the other trainers said. After lunch, I worked with weapons. Daggers, swords, and throwing knives. Might as well be well-versed in the most common types of weapons, and I'm already well-versed in hand to hand combat and wrestling.
Mouse "Mo" Conen –18- -D3- POV
During training, I take the path of the careers. I can kill people easily with no more than a small knife, I don't need big weapons to kill, but they are useful for intimidation. I also take a peek at the survival stations, but I know most of it already.
Casca Ishtar –15- -D5- POV
I train, following Ashley's advice, with a dagger and then some throwing knives for most of the day, taking a half-hour to peruse the survival stations. At one point, someone from the big group of outliers approached me, but I declined their offer. I'm not interested in any allies.
Levi Nasue-Keenly –15- -D5- POV
I, ironically, do almost the same things in training as Casca, but at opposite times so that it doesn't appear that we're training together. I also reject the offer from the outlier alliance.
Toby Green –17- -D9- POV
Following George's advice, I work with Katelynn the longbow trainer for a bit, then learn a bit of swordplay with Danielle during my training. In the back of my mind the entire day is Lola. She's the reason why I'm doing this. And she is the reason why I will win.
Freya Huede Swindlehurst –15- -D10- POV
Following Kayne's advice, I work on my survival skills in the morning, while Rudolf – well, I'd rather not describe what he does. But I'm grateful he'll be doing it to our enemies rather than me. Our enemies. We're finally together. Not that, like, I thought about us being together for – oh, who am I kidding? But this is not exactly the way I imagined it happening. Ugh. I just hope that he never does that to me. I really don't want my guts ripped out like I'm a pig. Uhh. I think I'm going to throw up – give me a moment.
Sorry about that. Where was I? Oh, right. During lunch, Rudolf and I ate together to make sure everyone knew we were allies. We made small talk, even if it was a bit hard for me to, well… talk. But I'm getting better around Rudolf, luckily.
"So," he says, "what is, like, your passion, Freya? What is it you want to do with the rest of your life?" He leaves out the assuming you have a rest of your life.
"I don't know, honestly," I respond. "Something with math, I guess. Numbers and logic. It all just makes so much sense."
He nods, taking a bite of – chicken, I think – and responds. "Unlike people?"
"I guess, yeah," I say. "What about you?"
"Me?" He asks.
Rudolf Urs Huber –16- -D10- POV
"Me?" I ask. "Well… I like cool days, being alone, at least away from my family, and making deliveries like the ones to your shop. When I don't have to run, that is."
"I see," Freya says, taking a bite of her sandwich, in a sort of dainty, cute way. I'm happy that we're finally talking. I think I'm starting to develop a crush on her again. Which… ugh. It's like, I'm happy to have a crush, but on the other hand… not here. After all, I might have to kill her. And I don't know if I can do that. "So, what don't you like?"
"Well, I'm not the biggest fan of my father," I say. "Apart from that? The heat. Like, at all. Rain. And running. I hate running. What about you?"
She considers the question for a second, rolling her cute, big brown eyes back a little, biting her lip, and swaying ever so slightly in a way that's just adorable before she answers. "I really don't like thunderstorms," she says. "Or loud noises –," at that second, someone drops a tray across the room. She jumps a little bit.
"It's alright," I say, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just a tray."
She smiles, giving a small laugh. "Thanks. I know. Anyway, case in point there, uh, I don't know. I'm not the biggest fan of being around people in general anyway. My family's the only exception."
"Funny," I say. "I get along with my family much worse than anyone else and you got along with everyone else better than your family."
"I guess," she says.
"So, anything else?" I ask.
"Nope, that's about it," she says. "Oh, and I love these Capitol clothes! So soft!" We both laugh.
Elias McKellen –12- -D11- POV
I, along with many of the other Tributes, work with daggers, throwing knives, and survival stations throughout the day. Then, it's time for the Gamemaker sessions.
Lucy Snow –18- -President's Daughter- -Capitol Ruler- POV
I casually walk into the room where the Gamemakers sit assembled, waiting for the Tributes to come in and attempt to dazzle us with their skills or lack of them. The first person who notices me, a junior Gamemaker, starts in surprise.
"Miss Snow!" The man says. "What an honor to –,"
He's cut off as I brush him aside, moving past him to the front of the viewing area. "Mr. Mallard," I say to the man, who, although being twice my age, is my inferior, "are we ready for the Tributes?"
"Yes, Ma'am," he says. "We were just about to bring the first one in."
"Wonderful," I say, sitting down in the chair next to him, undoubtedly reserved for some important senior Gamemaker, and crossing my legs like a proper lady. "Bring him in."
"Yes, Ma'am," Mallard says, looking pained at my choice of seat.
"And could we get some food?" I ask. "I'm feeling a little peckish."
"Of course, Ma'am. Right away," he says. He he. I like putting on the ditsy teenager act sometimes. Of course, Mallard has seen a few glimpses of the true me. Underneath my dress, designed my only the finest fashion designers, of course, to attract the most attention for whatever reason – whether that be jealously, disgust, envy, or attraction – is a specially designed sidearm, designed to fit underneath any of my clothes without being obvious. There are also two spare magazines. Just in case. Nobody should try to assassinate me, but, if they do, I will be prepared. Unlike Father, or Daddy as I call him in public. He truly believes that he will always be in power, that the Capitol's rule will never be threatened. But I know better. There is the possibility of Rebellion. And, if not crushed, it could turn into a problem. That's where I and Father differ. He believes he can never lose, that he is immortal, invulnerable. I know better. And that's why, one day, I will rule Panem. Those happy thoughts are on my mind when the first of the Tributes enters.
The boy from District One. He kills some dummies with an ax, then a sword. Yawn. I've seen this all before on TV. When they don't scream, it's so much less exciting. After every Tribute, Mallard and his flock squawk about the Tribute, probably trying to determine their score. I don't care about their scores, nor do I care about the odds that Mallard's flight will come up with. After all, I have people in place to ensure that I win, no matter who wins. Not that the money means anything, but the publicity of always knowing who wins the Games certainly does.
Now it's the girl's turn. She throws stuff through the necks of the dummies. Entertaining. Ah, the food is finally here. Roast pig. Delicious.
Boy, Two. More killing – swords. Effective, but unoriginal. This is actually sort of boring.
Girl, Two. Well, we're not getting that dummy back. This is why the Hunger Games costs so much every year, isn't it?
Boy, Three. Oof. I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that knife. The way he uses it is more like something I heard about when I watched TV. A shiv, I think they call it? Those small prison knives. Either way, he's brutal.
Girl, Three. Oh, hey, that's the one Katelynn was with when I went over to mess with Dear Mother. One day, I'll kill her. Mother, not this girl. I'm sure she'll die too, they all do. But her archery, just like Mother's, is really good. I mean, not as good as mine, but still.
Boy, Four. Killing things with axes again. Yawn.
Girl, Four. Killing things with tridents. More entertaining than with axes, I suppose.
Boy, Five. Attempting to kill things by throwing knives at them, with moderate success. Okay.
Girl, Five. Almost the exact same thing, but now with a dagger in there too. Where are the original ones? I want to see more of that knife-through-throat stuff.
Boy, Six. Short sword, nice. Useful, but still pretty boring. At least a unique weapon choice.
Girl, Six. Swordplay, mostly. Okay. Sort of boring, but useful.
Boy, Seven. More daggers. Yawn.
Girl, Seven. Tiny. Daggers. Lots of daggers this year, eh? Maybe I should order no daggers be put in the Arena, just to screw with them. No, I won't do that. That would be hilarious though.
Boy, Eight. Swords. Okay. Effective but boring.
Girl, Eight. Throwing knives and daggers. Popular this year.
Boy, Nine. Machete. Effective and cool. I hope he gets one. I want to see him tear someone up with one of those.
Girl, Nine. Swords. Yawn.
Boy, Ten. Did he just gut that dummy? So many ways to kill people with just a knife… he treated those dummies like they were pigs… he's actually a bit scary. I mean, not to me. Disturbing to me, yes. But he should certainly be scary to the other Tributes.
Girl, Ten. A small knife. Boring. Although she does show some pretty interesting bandaging techniques for a Tribute.
Boy, Eleven. More daggers and throwing knives. Tiresome.
Girl, Eleven. Sword. Effective, but usual.
Boy, Twelve. Bow. Interesting. Not half bad, but if someone gets up close…
Girl, Twelve. Daggers and throwing knives. My goodness. Can they not get a little variety this year? Oh well, at least it's done. Mildly entertaining, maybe I'll be back next year. Maybe I'll have something better to do with my time. We'll see. I check with Mallard on his implementation of my plans before I leave.
Training Scores:
Blaze Herrscher: 8
Aislie Dellarouse: 8
Eric Torres: 8
Sabine Allaire: 8
Mouse Conen: 7
Valencia Bisset: 7
Aphelios Asturias: 8
Ariadna Starsgaard: 9
Levi Nasue-Keenly: 5
Casca Ishtar: 5
Dante Myers: 6
Miria Wallace: 6
Griffin Jefferson: 4
Luzson Byrne: 4
Ollie Rousseau: 6
Vanessa Vandermeer: 5
Toby Green: 8
Alita Whicker: 6
Rudolf Huber: 8
Freya Swindlehurst: 5
Elias McKellen: 4
Olivia Dean: 6
Heller Horvath: 5
Everest Asher: 3
A/N: Okay, so what did everyone think? Next is interviews, then odds, then the Victor's Dinner, where there will be a more frank discussion of the perceived odds by our previous Victors and Mentors. :) Anyway, thank you to all the people who inspired the trainers in this chapter:
First and foremost, Danielle Hawkins/Hawkmaid. A close personal friend of mine who has helped me through good times and the bad. She's a great person and she also has her own (equally great, so better than mine) SYOT called Phenomenon that you guys might want to check out! Also, I truly say this because she's an awesome person and for no other reason. She is truly awesome, so thanks, Ellie.
Lucas [Redacted]: My other close friend who has always been available with writing advice. Thanks for that!
Katelynn [Redacted]: The first person I ever fell in love with. I may not know where you are anymore, but I wish you well. A great shot (although with a gun) and very beautiful, just like her character. Also, this will probably be her last cameo, as she was here for continuity. I'll probably find a (as much as anything in Panem is) peaceful reason to write her out now that she's (sadly) gone from my life.
Ella [Redacted]: A very interesting person who I should've gotten to know better, definitely a light in the night. :) (Inside joke.)
See you all soon! Please, leave a review and tell me what you thought! Interviews coming up semi-soon! Also, PM me if you have any ideas for what your Tribute would talk about in interviews, as I sort of suck at making them not all identical, and then writing twenty-four almost identical things sucks the life out of me. (Okay, not really, but seriously, if you think they have something special they'll talk about, feel free to tell me. The things I normally hit on are: One warm-up, fluff question (eg., Katniss' what do you like most about the Capitol), and then they often talk about their Love Interest back home, if one exists, or their family, if one exists, maybe one special thing (eg., volunteering) and then it's over. If you think they would say something that doesn't fit in those categories, let me know. Anyway, I'm rambling, so see you soon! – JStar14H