Author's Note: Back to one of the canon victors, and finally another win for District Eleven. It's a longer chapter, covering a lot of time, and I hope I do the character justice.
….
The Twenty-Nineth Hunger Games: Seeder Tamar, District Eleven
When Seeder left the arena of the Twenty-Nineth Hunger Games after twenty-nine days, she knew her endurance battle was only just beginning. Her recovery would be the first long phase of a new life. She had set the record for the longest time in an arena (a record that would never be broken) and it would take her even longer to recover. Her wounds would heal, but her disorientation would linger, after a Gamemaker experiment with new technology.
It was Coriolanus Snow's first year as Head Gamemaker and when he found out that his predecessor had been sitting on newly developed technology allowing them to alter day and night, he knew he would use it. He had to make his mark on the Hunger Games once more, the first to be officially and completely under his control.
After the typical bloodbath, the excitement of that first day, and the traditionally slower second day, the seventeen remaining tributes woke up to the longest day they would ever experience. The arena was vast, too vast, Snow and his fellow Gamemakers would later realise, full of fields, grasslands and lakes that would dry up a little more each day. The volunteer pack had only picked off six tributes and Seeder was the only other tribute to make a kill. She had hidden in the tall grass and used her slingshot, (obtained from the Cornucopia when all the volunteers had taken off after the bloodbath), to take down an already wounded tribute. She felt sick at what she had done but knew she had given him a quicker death than succumbing to his volunteer-inflicted wounds. Unbeknownst to Seeder, her actions had created some interest amongst the sponsors and Orchard had money to work with that would help in the coming days.
The Gamemakers kept the sun high in the sky for forty hours. The tributes were confused, and the volunteers had an argument over their perceptions of time and whether it could have been daytime for longer than a day and if that were even possible. When night did eventually fall, it stayed dark for another thirty-two hours and the confusion and paranoia in the volunteer pack meant that they went their separate ways. But unfortunately for the Gamemakers, they split as peacefully as a group of trained tributes could. They left with their district partners and wandered off in different directions.
Seeder had made camp by a lake and was making use of the night vision glasses and water bottle that Orchard had sent with the sponsorship funds. She slept for a few hours at a time and kept watch for the rest of the long night. Luckily, she had paid attention to the edible plants station in training and knew that the grasses, flowers, and plants growing at the water's edge provided enough sustenance for someone already as thin and undernourished as her.
The pair from One fought, argued and turned on each other. The girl killed the boy and then Seeder finished her off with one of the jagged rocks she had collected from by the lake. Several days later, the pair from Two had not come across a single other tribute so decided enough was enough and fought each other. They were equally matched and bled out within minutes of each other. The pair from Four had given up trying to find other tributes and the food sources were also drying up. The grasses and flowers were slowly shrivelling and dying and eating them caused illness. Mags and Chloe's tributes lost their lives to the poison now emitted from the plants.
Orchard watched as the arena's food dried up and the prices of sponsor food increased and picked his moment to buy Seeder all he could. It was clear what the Gamemakers were doing by now, aiming for the longest Games, in the largest arena, and making the Hunger Games a starvation game. When the food arrived, Seeder knew what to do and saved as much as she could for as long as she could.
The Gamemakers continually played with the duration of the days and nights with the remaining tributes seeing incredibly short days followed by long nights and then the reverse. The tributes were so far spread out that the only thing killing them was the poison secreted by the dying and rotting foliage. Seeder managed to make her food last longer than any other tribute could. But the lake began to dry up faster too and she could only manage a few sips of water at a time. She lay in the tall grass, feeling the gnawing pain of hunger worsen, unable to stand for too long or walk too far from the dizziness and confusion brought on by her dehydration. She had deteriorated so much that it took her over an hour to realise that a sponsor gift was lying right next to her. The note stuck to the pouch simply said "drink", so she did, but not before spilling some of it over her hands. In what Seeder would deem her most awful moment, she licked the solution off her hands and crawled away from where she had been laying.
Suddenly the ground fell from beneath her and Seeder managed to take hold of one of the sharp rocks she had gathered before she went sliding uncontrollably back towards the centre of the arena. She had begun to feel more aware of her surroundings and was able to scramble to her feet and stagger towards the Cornucopia where she found the boy from District Five laying there. He was not even able to acknowledge her presence. Seeder made her final kill and wept as she was lifted from the arena.
Seeder was correct in saying that her recovery would be her next endurance battle. Her ability to sleep and her perception of time had suffered, thanks to weeks of Gamemaker alterations. She had never been well fed and a month of starvation had not helped. She would only eat tiny portions, restricted how much she would prepare at any one time and saved every scrap of food left, still acting as if she did not know when she would next receive any food. Orchard would try to reassure that she would never want for food and drink again, that she could buy anything she wanted from the district as well as items she liked from the Capitol, but she remained stuck in that mindset.
The Victory Tour was a difficult experience. Orchard was thankful for the small offerings in Twelve and Eight and to Max and Claudia for turning a blind eye to how much his victor did not eat in Six. Max clearly looked unwell and Claudia under the influence, so they did not eat much either. The hearty portions in Ten caused a lot of worry. Maria, proud of Ten's specialist offerings did her best to ease Seeder's worries, and Orchard did not want to offend so ate more than he normally would and took some back in a box to eat on the train. Abraham made fun of Seeder's struggles so Maria swiftly ejected him from the dinner and gave his portion to the Mayor's staff.
As ever, Four's victors did everything possible to make the newest victor's time in their district worry-free. Whilst Chloe and Coral were giving Seeder the tour, Orchard told Mags and Shai of the problem. At Mags' direction, they all ate tiny portions compared to what they were used to so not a single mouthful was wasted and so not to upset Seeder. After Eleven's victors had left, (Orchard taking more food back with him again), Four's victors had a second, more substantial meal and considered how to help their newest victor.
The time in the Capitol was dreadful. Seeder was so overwhelmed by the sheer quantities and varieties of food on offer. Orchard made her a small plate for her to pick at to keep up appearances and distracted her by offering repeated dances and directing her to the friends he had made over the years. Their escort thought that Seeder had been rude throughout the tour and tried to confront the young woman, but Orchard defended his victor and had a large argument with his escort in the middle of the President's party that ended up across Panem's news.
Seeder was mortified that her habits had made national news, but her embarrassment slowly turned into anger. They had made her crawl for food and water, forced her into licking electrolyte solution from her hands in desperation, leaving her lying motionless on the floor from hunger and thirst, and they had the audacity to call her ungrateful.
But with Orchard's encouragement and persistence, Seeder gradually began to eat more. Now reassured after over half a year with a constant food supply, she felt more secure in preparing larger portions. She would never waste food, but Orchard knew that was not a bad habit in itself.
Within less than three years, Seeder had her own victor and wanted to ensure that Anara did not pick up unhealthy habits. Whilst she still had some difficulties with food, she pushed herself to model the best habits she could for her victor, not wanting to see her suffer any more unnecessarily than she already would.
Orchard was proud of his victor and watched her grow into a formidable woman. She would still find Capitol parties, the excess and overwhelming variety difficult, but Seeder managed her own choices and realised she could not stop other people with theirs at those parties.
Seeder knew her improvements were not solely down to her efforts. She realised that she was a very wanted victor. The other victors wanted Orchard to have a companion at home and in the Capitol after twenty-five years of living and mentoring alone. Because of this, she knew she had a whole source of unwavering support. Orchard put many of his efforts in Eleven on hold to help her and she would repay him in time with her dedication to the cause and the other victors. But she knew there was help and friendship in the others too. She would form solid, enduring friendships with Chloe, Coral and Liev and eventually found herself in a position to support other victors, helping Maria with Diego and then much later with Charo and Adan. She became both a motherly and sisterly figure to Chaff and then Haymitch and they would form some of the strongest bonds out of any of the victors.
When she needed support, Orchard was always around at home. In the Capitol, she eventually took the lead as Orchard began to stay at home more, but she could always rely on Mags. Seeder knew what the older victor had done for her on her Victory Tour and how she always had her back in her earliest years as a mentor. Her assistance would always be available. She would repay the favour, looking out for Four's victors and helping bridge the gap between the outliers and the volunteers to the extent that Gem, Cleo, and Tiber liked her, which went a long way with their later victors.
Through having a victor so quickly after her own survival and then becoming involved in the rebel cause, Seeder always had a purpose. She had times where every day felt like a battle, when she was sitting in her home as the nights drew in during the winter or as the days got longer during the summer where she felt like she was back in the arena. But she would remember that there was always something to do, whether it be a book to read for Pluto's club, managing her business or later, pulling Chaff away from the bottle.
Her brother would return to her life after his marriage broke down and he moved into her home. He gave her understanding and patience when things were difficult, and friendship and support in all her endeavours. They worked together on her business, a companion to Orchard's, with them both making and showcasing District Eleven produce. Seeder never thought she would spend so much time around food due to her relationship with it after the arena, but she found she enjoyed sweet things in smaller amounts. Her confectionary using the fruits, cocoa and sugar grown in Eleven would sell well in the Capitol and like Orchard, she had well paid and properly treated employees managed by her and her brother. That way, she knew that there were foods consumed in the Capitol that were made ethically and that was something she could influence.
Two of those employees, Orchid and Lily would join her in leading Eleven's rebel efforts once Orchard had decided to slow down. Seeder would handle their contacts in the Capitol and try to gain influence with those who profited off the agricultural industry. She was a trusted figure in the district, although as Eleven was so large it was difficult to maintain a consistent presence. But as the victors were the only people able to move freely across the district's zones, she had more sway than most others, with her fair handling of issues and problem-solving abilities coming through.
Each Mayor maintained a harsh regime, ensuring that Capitol directed punishments were carried out, but people did try wherever possible to solve disputes without attracting peacekeeper attention. This often led to Seeder becoming the arbiter of employment, debt, and other kinds of personal matters.
Orchid and Lily, who Seeder later made the managers of her business assisted in these matters, but most of their efforts were spent working inside different groups across Eleven and reporting back. It was easy to ensure the employees of the victors were united but gaining consensus more widely was difficult. Chaff would deal with the fighting element, but the women's time was spent ensuring that there would be some level of organisation across Eleven when the fighting did inevitably break out. Supply lines would need to be established and maintained, they would need rudimentary medical care and people to step into the power gap left when they did overthrow the current leadership.
The plan was for Seeder to step in until elections could be held. Orchard would insist that no matter what happened in the other districts, Eleven would fight alongside them all but pick their own leader. Seeder was the only person who held support across the district. But everything changed when the Quell was announced. Seeder would have a different role. She would do all she could to get Haymitch's victors out alive. She would try to meet them but if it came between her survival or that of Chaff's, Maria's victors, or Finnick, Johanna or Cecelia, she would gladly lay down her life.
Seeder saw Enobaria stab Beetee in the back and Johanna turn back towards the Cornucopia and the victors from Two. If it was going to come down to her and Johanna to save Three's victor and their plans with him, Seeder knew what she had to do. She ran in Johanna's direction to provide cover for the young woman's astonishing bravery for a man she barely knew and came face to face with Brutus. The larger man apologised before snapping her neck.
Upon seeing her face in the sky on the first night Chaff sobbed, not caring if anybody nearby would hear and Mags shed a tear for her friend. In the Mentor's Centre, Haymitch cried along with Chaff on screen. He was relieved that Orchard did not have to see this.
In District Eleven, peacekeepers were already attempting to strip the victors' possessions from their homes but Orchid and Lily had recruited their fellow employees to stand guard outside Victors' Village. The peacekeepers would be unable to get past.
Orchid and Lily held a copy of the keys to their friend's home. When the peacekeepers had given up, they discretely entered, retrieved the box containing plans, information and Seeder's most important possessions and left, locking the door behind them. Seeder had entrusted Eleven to them. They would have to get this right, for her.