AN: Hello everyone. Here's day two of training, where we see more tributes getting to know each other, for better or worse. There will one more chapter of training after this, followed by a private session/score reveal chapter, and an interview/night-before chapter. Then it's the Bloodbath! Prior to that, every tribute will have at least two POVs.
Anyway, hope you enjoy, and I'd really love to hear your thoughts on everything that's been going on.
Thorin Cliffe / 16 / District Six Female
"I can't believe you did that, Thorin," says Connor as he scoops another helping of scrambled eggs onto his plate. "A day in and you're already throwing me to the wolves."
The girl scoffs. "Please, I didn't say I'd accept their offer."
"But you said you'd consider it, right in front of me."
"And I am considering it."
"You know how bad that makes me look? The fact that you're open to ditching me for people you don't know."
"But I don't know you either, Connor. And let's make one thing clear: I owe you nothing. Only one person can leave the arena alive, so I need to think about what's best for me."
Connor abruptly puts down his fork, the clatter of silverware prompting Thorin to look up.
"I don't want to keep arguing," he says, his voice now soft and melancholic. "You know, back home we had people my father paid to help us with everything – servants, basically. I had a cook, butler, driver, even a tutor. So how long do you think I'd last in there? I don't know shit, Thorin. The truth is, I need you. Nobody else would consider taking me in, I guarantee it. You being from home… you're my only shot. So I'm asking you – please don't go."
Please don't go.
I have to, Freddie. It's getting late. My parents will be expecting me and so will yours. Just practice the trick like I showed you and be ready for tomorrow, okay?
She's unsure how to respond, and it's not long before Lavinia appears at the entryway to the dining area.
"Well you two are awfully quiet," she comments. "But it's time to go now. Six is never late."
The elevator ride down to the training floor is spent in silence, with both tributes actively avoiding any eye contact. Thankfully, their escort is there to fill the air with her incessant chatter.
"And just remember, the new rules mean that the gamemakers may be watching you. And what they see can affect your training score. But I have no doubt you two know what you're doing."
The doors open to the well-lit training area, still mostly empty except for the trainers who are busy setting up. Thorin and Connor step forward, somewhat hesitant of what to do now that Lavinia has brought them down here so early.
There's a beep from the elevator doors next to theirs, and another two tributes step forth – the pair from Eight.
"Just the person I was looking for," remarks Calia. "You said you'd have an answer for us today."
"You mentioned you only wanted me, right?"
"That's correct," says Dawson.
"Then the answer's no."
And before either of them has a chance to say anything, Thorin walks away, ready to begin the second day of training.
Devlin Mead / 18 / District Nine Male
"Didn't you say you'd carry me into the top ten?" asks Emilie accusingly.
"I did," Devlin answers, "But that doesn't mean you can't contribute."
The girl had ended up with her back on the mat once again, with Devlin insisting that he isn't shoving her that hard. She'd been punching into the focus mitts furiously just a moment ago, practicing what he taught her.
"You're doing fine," he reassures her. "Let's keep going."
After helping her up, Devlin readies himself again for another assault. Less than a minute later, he decides to suddenly push forward again, which catches her off guard once more.
Emilie slams the mat with her hands. "This is a waste of time. I'm not going to learn to fight in three days."
"That might be true, but this is about the fundamentals – concentration, coordination, patience… You could work on the last one especially."
Devlin smiles at her, faintly so but just enough that he's sure she sees it. Smiling is usually a pointless affair to him, but he needs Emilie to be fully on board now. If someone's going to be watching his back, he might as well make sure they're as prepared as they can be. Despite his lofty promise, she could very well save his life in the arena, for there is simply too much uncertainty to predict what will happen. And because of that, he's beginning to regret what he said to her on the train. If Emilie dies before the top ten, then he'd be marked as a failure, especially if she tells anyone else about their "deal." And the last thing Devlin Meads wants to be is a failure.
"Let's go again. Remember how we talked about sitting on your punches?"
Emilie has this unamused look on her face, though her gaze seems to be directed at something behind Devlin. He turns around and sees the pair from Four standing just beside the mat, watching them.
"I'm impressed," the boy comments. "Who needs the trainers when she has you?"
"Can I help you with something?" asks Devlin, an edge of annoyance in his voice.
"I think you can. I'm Terrance and this is Ryba. We, along with the rest of the group, think you'd make a great addition to our team."
"Really now. Six or seven of you isn't enough?"
"Think of it as… insurance," replies Terrance.
"Well, let me tell you something, Four. If you think I'm one of you just because I trained for this, you're mistaken. Back home in Nine, we don't have any special academies or victors to train us. Our victors come back and drink themselves to death or get hooked on morphling and Xyva and who knows what else. So no, I won't be joining you because I'm nothing like you. Remember that."
It's probably the most he's spoken at once since arriving at the Capitol, but it needed to be said. And Devlin doubt he'll have another chance to converse with these Careers.
Terrance presses on, "Look, we all want to win the Games, so let's be rational here. "How about you consider our offer and—"
"He said he's not interested," interjects Emilie.
"Quiet, little girl," Ryba snaps. "We're not talking to you."
"No, it's fine. Looks like you've made your decision already. Come on Ryba, we've got better things to be doing."
As they begin to walk away, Ryba leaves the pair from Nine a departing remark.
"You're going to miss being alive."
Emilie is poised to say something back, but Devlin silences her.
"Forget it. Let 'em say what they want now. See if they can follow through once the Games start."
"You really think we can take on all of them?" asks Emilie.
"We don't have to. I bet the other tributes all hate the Careers too. But we need to be prepared for anything."
Realistically, the two of them don't stand a chance if they have to face the entire Career group at once, no matter how hard Emilie trains now. But telling her that will only weaken her drive.
"Anyway, let's continue where we left off," says Devlin. "Ready up."
Corianne Venner / 17 / District Twelve Female
"You remember any of those plants?" Slate asks his district partner as they're walking away from the foraging station.
"A good number, I think. Always been a visual learner."
"Good, because I can hardly recall any."
Corianne snickers. "Who knows, we could end up in an indoor arena and none of this would matter."
"Well that's a nice thought."
The two of them had likely eaten more than they should have during lunch, so they spent the first few hours of the afternoon at stations that were less physically demanding.
"So what are we doing now?"
"I don't know. Maybe we could go back to archery," she suggests, directing her gaze at the now-unoccupied station. "I thought we were doing fine there yesterday 'til those Careers showed up."
"Archery, huh. You trying to be Katniss Everdeen here?"
Corianne laughs. "Maybe, but hopefully with a different ending. You can be my Peeta Mellark."
"Peeta… you know, I always thought that was kind of a stupid name."
"Not what I'd choose for my kid, but it's still far better than some of those from One."
"Like Glimmer," says Slate, snickering. "Then again, when everyone around you has names like that…"
"Regardless, any tribute from One can probably kick our asses easily, especially if we keep fooling around."
"Fine, let's go then."
The two head over to the archery station, where they'd spent quite a bit of time yesterday before being interrupted by the Careers. They then observed the group from afar as they appeared to hold a contest between the boy from One and the girl from Seven. From the looks of it, the girl had lost as she stormed off shortly after the last arrow was fired.
The pair from Twelve ready themselves in adjacent lanes and begin to loose arrows at the targets, first stationary and then mobile ones. Despite both being novices, Corianne seems to have better accuracy than her district partner.
A few minutes into their session, a trainer comes up to help with their technique, though his efforts end up mostly devoted to Slate.
"You're still sticking your elbow out too much," he says to him.
A familiar phrase, Corianne muses as she recalls the trainer telling Slate something similar yesterday. He may not be a quick learner, and sure, he may be somewhat flighty, but this boy from Twelve does have heart, as evidenced by his ill-fated plan to escape from the train. It was an idiotic idea in retrospect, and she never should've agreed to help him. But even the slightest possibility of it succeeding was enough to convince her at the time. She'd imagined a life out there in the wilderness, with no fences, no peacekeepers, no Capitol – just her and Slate Winter, a boy she met on Reaping Day. What an incredible story that would've been, but alas, such tales are only to be found in the paperback novels she gets from Sally-Ann Casto's stall at the Hob.
Despite knowing each other for only a few days, Corianne feels comfortable with her district partner. And though they've never talked about it officially, it's safe to say that two will be allies once the Games begin.
She watches Slate fire another arrow, this time hitting respectably close to the bullseye.
"Slate, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead," he says, lowering the bow.
"Do you think we should look for more allies?"
He takes a moment before responding, "Honestly, probably not. I don't trust the others."
"But you trust me?"
"Much as I can in this situation," he replies, shrugging.
"Good enough," Corianne says with a soft laugh. As Slate goes to nock another arrow, her eyes linger on him for just a few seconds longer.
He certainly isn't bad-looking, come to think of it.
Everyone knows how silly a romance between tributes is. But at the same time, it's exactly something Corianne Venner would fall for.
Shae Argyros / 18 / District Two Female
She's seen it a few times before – some desperate outer kid volunteering to help a dying family member. Such a noble act wins the nation's heart each time, though it has yet to work out in the end. No matter what your intentions are, you'll bleed and die the same in the arena. That's the way it is, and Shae doesn't expect it to be any different this year. She keeps reminding herself that she isn't here because of Ria, though she's beginning to question the veracity of that statement. Not too long ago, the two of them would be chatting at the top of the hill behind the Academy, feeling the warmth of the afternoon sun and a brisk wind through their hair. As Shae looked up at the clouds, she'd be content with the way life was right then and there. She could enlist in the peacekeepers at some point down the road, while some other girl gets the coveted volunteer position for the 88th. But no, the stakes are even higher now, and she can't stop thinking about Ria.
She and Sett had just returned to their suite from the training floor, with the Avoxes busy preparing the dining area for supper under Harper's direction. Fortunately, Sett has retreated to his room, likely exhausted from his unnecessarily intense efforts earlier.
"You know, we've been training for over a decade," she'd said to him. "A few days won't make a difference."
He replied, "You keep telling yourself that. Every minute counts."
So be it. It's hardly out of character for him, as far as she knows. The guy had been pretty much absent from the Academy these past few years, to the point where Shae wasn't sure he'd be eligible. But clearly, he still has the attitude of the Academy regulars.
It's better this way, as she wouldn't want him seeing her speak to their escort privately. He'd be suspicious, ask questions, and possibly cause problems for her within the Careers.
"Excuse me, Harper. Could I talk to you for a second, in private?" Shae asks in the nicest tone she can muster.
"Of course dear. But let's make it quick, shall we. They're about to begin dinner service."
Shae leads her away from the dining room to the lounge area, not that the Avoxes could tell anyone what they're saying anyway. Still, it made her feel better now that they're alone.
"I was wondering if you could help me with something," begins the girl from Two. "Your husband is a top neurologist in the city, right?"
"Why yes. Department head at Caelian Heights Medical Center. How did you know?"
"You told us on the train," Shae replies flatly.
"Oh, of course I did. Is this about your girlfriend back home?"
Well then, clearly you aren't all as clueless as you look.
"It is. How—"
"Before we leave the districts on Reaping Day, all escorts are given files on their new tributes. They're not very detailed, but we do know some basic information about your close friends and family."
It's hardly surprising to hear that the government keeps records like this. After all, the threat of harm to your loved ones helps guarantee that tributes will play the game.
"I see. Well, I just wanted to know if anything can be done to—you know—bring her back. I figured that with all the technology here…"
"I'm happy to help however I can," replies Harper. "Tell you what, I'll have them pull her medical records from Two and send them to me. My husband can review them, and I'll get back to you. How's that?"
"Perfect," Shae exclaims. "Thanks for doing this for me."
"You're welcome, dear. Anything for my tributes."
Harper returns to the kitchen area, just in time as the Avoxes begin to bring in carts of food. Shae knows she's not helping her purely out of kindness though. Harper has a reputation for being ambitious, someone who wants to climb the ladder as quickly as she can. Last year, she'd just missed out on the One job, with Five's escort being selected instead. Any new victors would serve to strengthen her position for a future promotion. And to give a tribute something tangible to fight for – that'll make a much greater difference than three days of training ever could.